Blackhawks try to stop slide in Edmonton

Hockey Betting Lines

02/02/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The return of two of Chicago's top forwards wasn't enough to halt the club's losing streak last time out and the Blackhawks will try to avoid matching their longest skid of the season tonight when they visit the Edmonton Oilers at Rexall Place.

The Blackhawks have lost three straight for the fourth time this year and another setback tonight will tie Chicago's season-high skid that lasted from Jan. 2-8. Chicago captain Jonathan Toews and Patrick Sharp both returned from injuries on Tuesday, but that couldn't prevent the Blackhawks from dropping an overtime decision in Vancouver.

The recent slump has dropped the Blackhawks into a tie with St. Louis for the fifth seed in the West and third in the Central Division. Chicago is still only four points behind Detroit for first in the division as well as the top seed in the West.

The Blackhawks have lost two of three against the Oilers this season and Chicago was thoroughly embarrassed the last time it visited Edmonton. The Oilers slammed the visiting Hawks by a 9-2 score back on Nov. 19, as Taylor Hall notched a hat trick. Ray Emery started in net for Chicago, but was pulled after surrendering seven goals on 27 shots.

The Oilers, who are seeded 14th out of 15 teams in the West, have won four of the last seven meetings with Chicago. The Blackhawks had won six straight in Edmonton before getting routed back in November.

The Blackhawks have lost their last four road games and were dealt an overtime setback Tuesday in Vancouver. The 3-2 setback kicked off a nine-game road trip for Chicago, which is 10-9-3 on the road this year compared to a 19-6-4 mark in the Windy City. The current swing is tied for the longest stretch of consecutive road games in franchise history.

Daniel Sedin scored 3:37 into OT to give the Canucks the win over Chicago on the first night of NHL action following the All-Star break. Jamal Mayers and Viktor Stalberg scored for the Blackhawks, while Corey Crawford made 30 saves in the loss.

"I felt like we definitely played well enough to win tonight," said Crawford. "It's definitely frustrating."

Toews had missed one game before the break with an upper-body injury and had one assist and five shots on net in Tuesday's loss. Sharp failed to record a point in his first game back from an eight-game absence due to a wrist injury.

The Oilers posted a 4-7-2 record in January, but they did win two of three to close the month. Edmonton posted a 3-2 win Tuesday against visiting Colorado, as Taylor Hall's goal early in the third period proved to be the game-winner.

"It was nice to get that one and hold on in the end. Nice to get the win," Hall said.

Eric Belanger and Jordan Eberle also lit the lamp for the Oilers, while Devan Dubnyk made 31 saves for the win.

Oilers rookie forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is close to returning from a left shoulder injury that he suffered in Chicago on Jan. 2, but he isn't expected to play tonight. The No. 1 overall pick from the 2011 draft is leading all rookies with 35 points despite missing the last 12 games.

Edmonton is 13-8-3 as the host this year and is playing the middle test of a three-game homestand tonight. The Oilers will complete the residency Saturday against Detroit.

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FOOTBALL TRASH TALK

NFL Football Trash Talk

Trash talk has a place in every competitive endeavor (except baseball; those stirrup-wearers are too busy chewing on their sunflower seeds and their supplements to worry about what their opponents are doing).

Fantasy sports is no exception. Any intelligent discussion of the subject would probably start with a thesis statement or a definition of terms. Thankfully, this wont be an intelligent discussion.

Let me just say that I am happy to take a place in this space alongside my talented colleagues, even our commissioner. (You should see how she bleats like a demented paper boy about league fees on our fantasy site).

Trash talking, I would argue, is primarily about amusing your friends, their sheeplike demeanors and sloping foreheads notwithstanding. The best place I have found for football trash talking is at www.SportsAlarm.com.

Beyond the entertainment factor, though, I would recognize that the sophomoric ritual has one advantage, when properly applied. It magnifies your fantasy triumphs and mitigates your fantasy failures by transforming the eventual point total into an afterthought. Winning makes it seem like your opponent really is a truss-owning, lapel-pin-wearing nitwit. And in defeat, trash talk can be the air bag to break the fall from your hyperbolic heights. The plug-necked yahoos on your team, you can say, will be sacking groceries by the end of the season.

The best trash talk, in my view, is layered and nuanced. And it doesnt focus only on your opponents team. It picks apart your opponent. The idea is to create a shock-and-awe-scale blizzard of nonsense, and the goal is to make your opponent drop his hands from his keyboard in exasperation.

What team does your opponent root for? Accuse a Giants fan of having a Joe Namath pillowcase. Wheres your opponent from? Give a look of concern no matter his reply, then say, I'll try to type slower for you next time. Is your opponent into politics? Label everyone a tax-and-spend corporate shill.

Cap all that with a liberal application of irrelevance. For instance, dont just conclude by saying your opponent is a twerp who drafts like my grandmother. Say that your opponent is a sweater-wearing, eyebrow-plucking twerp who drafts his team about as well as Zsa Zsa Gabor gave acceptance speeches at the Oscars. By the time your foe makes sense of that, his starting running back will have had puppies.

But what about you? Hmm? Recall a memorable slam? Have a tried-and-true technique? Know someone who seems impervious to insult? Take a moment and tells us about it. Put together some (fit-for-publication) thoughts. You wont be too busy returning phone messages from your friends, Im sure, to reply.

In addition to the trash talking, the Sports Alarm has a huge gallery of high resolution pictures of beautiful women and models in bikinis. The most popular models are: Lindsay Lohan, Carrie Underwood, Alessandra Ambrosio, and Paris Hilton.

MySportsbook.com: NBA Championship Odds

With the playoffs about two months away, the top two teams in the Western Conference are the clear cut leaders to win the NBA Championship. The Dallas Mavericks have the best record in the NBA (44-9) and have been absolutely scorching since the second week of the season.  What makes the Mavs’ record more impressive is the fact that they dropped their first four games of the season.  Currently they have won 17 out of their last 18 and are MySportsbook.com’s favorite (2-1) to win it all.  Right behind the Mavs are the Pacific leading Phoenix Suns (39-13).  Last season, the Suns lost in the Conference Finals to non-other then the Mavericks four games to two.  Of course the Suns were without center Amare Stoudemire who has is averaging 19.9 PPG and 9.5 RPG since coming back from his knee injury.  Unlike the Mavs, the Suns have struggled a bit lately having lost their last three and four out of their last seven.  Of course the main reason for their three straight loses is due to the absence of two time MVP Steve Nash, who is out with a shoulder injury.  Heads-up, the Mavs have beaten the Suns in both of their meetings this season.

In the Eastern Conference, the Pistons (32-19) are the favorites to win it all at 6-1. The addition of Chris Webber seems to have been a good move for the Pistons.  Since coming over from the 76ers, Webber has averaged 13.1 PPG and 7.3 RPG and the Pistons are 11-4.  Even though the defending champion Heat are currently on the playoff making cusp, they are the Eastern Conference team that is getting the most action to win it all (9-1).  The fact that Shaquille O’Neal is back in the starting lineup after missing 39 games probably has something to do with this.  No doubt, Shaq makes a difference when in the lineup as their winning six out of their last seven would indicate.

Just because it is the All-Star break doesn’t mean that you can’t bet on NBA hoops this weekend.  Be sure to log onto MySportsbook.com to bet on who you think will cut down the nets this July. Also, be sure to check out all of the lines and props for All-Star weekend.  With the highest credit card acceptance rate in the industry, there are plenty of ways to cash in on the NBA this weekend.

MySportsbook.com’s NBA Championship odds:

Atlanta Hawks 1000-1

Boston Celtics 5000-1

Charlotte Bobcats 5000-1

Chicago Bulls 20-1

Cleveland Cavaliers 20-1

Dallas Mavericks 2-1

Denver Nuggets 25-1

Detroit Pistons 6-1

Golden State Warriors 250-1

Houston Rockets 12-1

Indiana Pacers 60-1

Los Angeles Clippers 45-1

Memphis Grizzlies 5000-1

Miami Heat 9-1

Milwaukee Bucks 1000-1

Minnesota T-Wolves 200-1

New Jersey Nets 50-1

New Orleans Hornets 150-1

New York Knicks 150-1

Orlando Magic 75-1

Philadelphia 76ers 1000-1

Phoenix Suns 5-2

Portland TrailBlazers 1000-1

Sacramento Kings 250-1

San Antonio Spurs 9-1

Seattle Sonics 5000-1

Toronto Raptors 35-1

Utah Jazz 20-1

Washington Wizards 25-1

About MySportsbook.com:


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